David Filner assumed the administrative leadership of the San Antonio Symphony in November, 2012. Led by Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing, the San Antonio Symphony is celebrating its 73rd year this season.

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Dance of the Dead

The San Antonio Symphony’s commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt continues this weekend with a work for piano and orchestra called Totentanz. Totentanz means Dance of the Dead. It gets this name because the main tune is based on the 13th century Gregorian Chant melody Dies Irae. The Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) is also used in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and many other symphonic works.

Here is the music:

Here is a video of ther Dies Irae in its original form. The fragment that most composers have used is in the very beginning.